Yvonne Craig was born in Taylorville,
Illinois, and grew up in Columbus, Ohio. As a young teenager, Craig
showed such promise as a dancer that she was accepted to Denham's
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Her training progressed until she left
the company in 1957 over a disagreement about casting changes. She
is one of the youngest to become a member of the Ballet Russe de
Monte Carlo.

Craig moved to Los Angeles hoping to
continue her dancing, but was soon cast in movies. At first, she had
small parts in pictures such as Gidget (1959), The Gene Krupa Story
(1959) and The Young Land (1959). She also had a guest role as
Beverly Mills in the 1959 episode "Little Miss Wow" of the
television series Mr. Lucky.

In 1960, she appeared with Bing Crosby in
High Time. In the following year, she appeared with Cesar Romero in
Seven Women from Hell. Romero would later play the Joker in Batman.

Another connection to Batman occurred when
Craig appeared in "The Case of the Lazy Lover", a 1958
episode of the television series Perry Mason, which also featured
Neil Hamilton as her stepfather. Hamilton would later play her
father, Commissioner Gordon, in Batman.

Craig dated Elvis Presley for a time and
had supporting roles in the two Elvis pictures, It Happened at the
World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). She also appeared
with in In Like Flint as a Russian ballet dancer opposite James
Coburn (1967).

Craig is best known for her
role as Batgirl on the television series Batman (1966). Her
secret identity was a mild mannered Gotham City
Libraian who also happened to be Commissioner Gordon's
daughter, Barbara. Her character, Batgirl, was part of the 67-68
season, which was the end of the run for the show.

Craig said in an 1998 interview with Femme
Fatales that she did all her own stunts for the show, while Adam West
and Burt Ward, the actors who played Batman and Robin, relied on
stunt doubles. "I meet young women who say Batgirl was their
role model, Craig told the magazine. They say it's
because it was the first time they ever felt girls could do the same
things guys could do, and sometimes better. I think thats lovely."

But that's not her only claim to fame in
the Neat Stuff Universe, she also apperared in the original Star Trek
and episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

In 1969 Craig played the
Orion Slave Girl Marta in the third season episode of the original
Star Trek series, Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy.

And, in a 1965 episode of The Man from
U.N.C.L.E. ("The Brain Killer Affair"), Craig helps solve
the mystery of a brain-endangering poison. In 1966, U.N.C.L.E.
released a theatrical film, "One Spy Too Many", expanded
from a 1965 Season Two episode, "The Alexander the Greater
Affair". The movie fetured additional footage depicting more
violence and risque content than seen on television. In the film
version Craig appears as an U.N.C.L.E. communications officer (below)
sunbathing topless under a sun lamp and carrying on a flirtatious
relationship with Napoleon Solo.

After Batman, Yvonne Craig continued to
act sporadically in movies and television. Notably, she appeared in
guest roles in Love, American Style, Kentucky Jones, The Big Valley,
It Takes a Thief, The Mod Squad, Kojak and Emergency and The Six
Million Dollar Man. She also made appearances as herself on some
celebrity editions of Family Feud (1976-1985).

Craig would later drop out of acting
because she found it difficult to switch from sexy roles to mother
roles. Never a mother, she thought she was not giving off the right
vibes to the casting people. Craig eventually moved into private
business. For a time, she was a co-producer of industrial shows,
after which she worked successfully in the real estate business.
Craig was involved with social and philanthropic work through the
years, and was a public voice to support worker unions and equal pay
for woman, as well as supporting free mammograms for women who cannot
afford them.

In 2000 Craig's autobiography "From
Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond" was published. In recent years
Craig has provided the voice of Grandma on the animated children's
show Olivia (2009) and, an avid world traveler, she and her husband
Ken have visited the remotest corners of the earth.

On Monday, August 17th, 2015 Yvonne Craig
died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 78.
Craigs family said in a statement that the actress died in her
Pacific Palisades home surrounded by loved ones. She is remembered by
fans as being an amazing artist who was as lovely in person as she
was on the screen. Many also remember her as being their first TV crush.